A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo has issued a warrant for the arrest of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, after she failed to appear for trial.
Presiding Judge Jude Onwuegbuzie also granted an arrest order for Bashir Nura Alkali, a permanent secretary in the ministry. The order followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when both defendants did not show up for their arraignment on Thursday.
Umar Farouq, Alkali, and Sani Mohammed face a 21-count charge of breach of trust and abuse of office filed by the EFCC. The commission alleges they misappropriated about $1.3 million and N746.6 million. According to the EFCC, part of the funds — meant to be refunded to the ministry after payments under a social intervention programme — was allegedly diverted for personal use.
Only Mohammed was present in court on Thursday.
Prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs told the court that the charge was filed on December 15, 2025, but the first and second defendants could not be arraigned because they were unavailable. He said their lawyers had earlier promised to produce them but did not, leading the court to order substituted service. While all defendants have now been served, only the third defendant reported to the EFCC after his surety was contacted. The surety was in court.
Jacobs added that the former minister wrote to the EFCC in 2024 requesting to travel to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, after which her passport was released. She has yet to return the passport and has not submitted any medical report from the trip. The defence filed an affidavit on Thursday morning claiming she was ill, but the attached medical reports were issued after the charge was filed. No medical report was given to the commission when the passport was released.
Counsel to Umar Farouq, Abdul Ibrahim, said her absence was due to ill health and sought to tender an affidavit, but the court declined to admit the application.
Umar Farouq served as minister from 2019 to 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
